Overview
- The FCC’s Space Bureau on July 9 granted Reflect Orbital permission to operate Eärendil-1 only for radio communications and approved its orbital debris plan for a single demonstrator.
- Reflect Orbital says Eärendil-1 will deploy an 18-by-18 meter mirror in low Earth orbit that can cast a spot of moonlike illumination over multi-square-mile areas for roughly five minutes at a time.
- More than 1,800 public comments and formal objections from groups including the American Astronomical Society, the European Southern Observatory, and the Royal Astronomical Society warned the reflector could harm research telescopes, create glare hazards for pilots and drivers, and disrupt ecosystems.
- The FCC declined to require an environmental assessment for the one-off test, saying concerns about optical astronomy and broader environmental effects fall outside its licensing authority.
- Scientists note that an empirical on-orbit test will shape future reviews because atmospheric scattering, cumulative brightness from many satellites, and Reflect Orbital’s roadmap for thousands to tens of thousands of mirrors raise risks that other agencies and more detailed studies may need to address.